Rose with a Mission

  Today my YWAM adventure begins! After 3 months of preparation I'm starting my adventure with Jesus. This last week was bittersweet. On Sunday my home church prayed for me and my time at YWAM. I am grateful for the love and support they have poured into me. It made their prayer for me all the sweeter. Then when we got home, we had a sibling birthday bash. Everyone voted they would rather celebrate early than to miss doing it with me. I have the best family. We had lots of presents, two cakes, and a lot of laughter. It was great and a time I will treasure.  Monday through Thursday I was busy running errands, packing, cleaning up my room, and hugging family. It's been an emotional and exciting time. Saying goodbye is tough, but the excitement of this new adventure carries me forward.  I spent Friday driving up to Lindale and spending time with my mom. She has been such a great support on this journey. I'm so thankful that we got to have some special time together before I ...

  I have some exciting news to share with you. The quilt is done!  Over a month of work, lots of team work, and a lot of sewing the quilt came together. It's so comfy and I can't wait to curl up in it.  With one week until my move in day, I've been saying a lot of goodbyes. I know that (Lord willing) I'll return, yet I know things won't be the same. My friends and family will grow as God shapes them to be more like His Son. While I won't be here to grow with them, I want them to know that I still love, support, and pray for them. Ultimately I know they are in the best hands possible.  Thank you for your prayers. The Lord has been walking with me through every step of conviction and transformation. As we have been walking, I'm seeing more of how He wants me to live. He's been faithful to sustain me and lead me. He brings clarity to help me remove sin, distractions, and weights in my life. For that I'm so grateful.  As I continue to prepare...

  This week I feel like I’ve been on an amusement park ride with life going by packed, fun and super-fast.   On Sunday I got a text from my boss asking me to sub for just one day. I was all too happy to come in and get more kid hugs. While the day was a bit crazy keeping up with kids, restocking cleaners, and trying to get back into work mode for the day, I was also thrilled to see my kids again. It felt great to cuddle little T when he was feeling sad. It was fun to have several of my kids see me and excitedly call out, “Miss Rose!” followed up by a sweet hug. I was a happy tired at the end of the day. Tuesday through Thursday was the 4 th Annual Siblings Retreat. When planning when to do siblings retreat, the vote was unanimous that they didn’t want to do it without me. I have the best siblings. We had so much fun playing games, eating M & M’s, taking a hike complete with dip in the river, talking and laughing together, and watching some fun movies together. It was ...

This week has been really good. Now that I'm in full time preparation for YWAM, I'm starting to tackle the things that need to get done before I leave. Things like cleaning out the closet (a scary task, but I wanted to leave it clean), sew a special quilt, continuing to gather items needed, write letters, and normal things like cleaning and Bible time. Despite all these projects, I didn't want to neglect the what's most important: relationships. This week the Lord has graciously given me a lot of time to pour into family and friends. I was able to enjoy the zoo with my family, take some long walks with my sister, have some good talks with Jesus, write a long letter to a friend whose on a mission of her own, have a good long phone call with a friend in Cali, text and voice message several good friends, as well as touch base with some old coworkers and share my new adventure with them. I love all the amazing people that God has put into my life and how they encourage and ...

  My mom is fond of saying that everything is for a time and a season. Thursday finished my season with Solid Foundation Preschool. It was hard to say goodbye to the kids. I love them so much and we have had so many good times together. It hasn't all been perfect, but I am so thankful I got to love on these little kids and I pray show them a little of what Jesus is like.  One of the biggest things I've been learning in this season is how to love well. Kids, while sweet and adorable, can cause frustration. It's in these moments that I can choose to get frustrated or to respond in love. I'm still not perfect, but the Lord helped me make great strides in learning to let the frustration slide away and focus on loving them well in that moment.  I'm so grateful for the times I got to learn how to do a task better, the times I got to tickle a little one, the times I got to chase a two year old around the playground, the times I got hugs, and all the times we got to play to...

  This week I have seen so much progress. For starters, Thank you to everyone who prayed for me last week. I am healed and feeling back to normal. Praise God! Then I've received a lot of donations this week. They have blessed and humbled me. I'm now up to 34% of my goal! Because of them and taking a good chunk out of savings, I was able to send off a check for my lecture phase. This was so big and I couldn't have done it without you. Now I can focus on saving for the missions trip and expenses for my time at YWAM.  I am smiling so big right now. When I think of all that God has been doing and all that is being accomplished, I'm so excited to be a part of this adventure.  Now I only have 4 days of work left. I love my kids and the time that I have been able to spend at Solid Foundation Preschool. I've learned so much about how God sees me and how to love on little ones well. I'm stocking up on kid hugs.  I've also been working to be faithful in prayer, in fri...

This week has been more of a struggle for me. I've been dealing with an infection that caused quite a bit of pain. Despite that, I'm so grateful.  I praise God for medical professionals that we could consult and get medicine to fight the infection. The Lord has been so good. As I've come to Him and cried out, He has given me peace. It's been an exercise in trusting God and not in my own resources. While I am still learning, I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow in trusting Him.  I'm so grateful for the family who took care of me and loved me even when I woke up in pain at 3 AM. They are a great comfort and encouragement to my heart. I'm grateful for the friends who prayed for me fervently and lovingly.  I'm so grateful for the comforts of home, medicine to treat infections, kind bosses, naps, and really good food.  I'm grateful for the four days of work I was able to go in this week and for the kid hugs I got.  I'm grateful for the donations I...